European intercultural exchange

"Young European Laboratory of Theatre"

The JTLE fully follows the European Commission's wish to make 2008 the year of European intercultural exchange. Indeed, their plan is to use cultural diversity as a strength, to unite and create around it, in order to share an original performance with audiences from all cultural and social horizons.This cultural exchange will be born through the creation of a living production, but it will also be enriched by the free theatre workshops that will be set up in conjuction with the performances


By WAVE Team
from Belgrade, SERBIA


The Young European Laboratory of Theatre (JTLE) is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to create a european space for theatrical creation and study. Their project in 2008 is to bring together a group of young actors from different european acting schools and to create a performance which will be shown in all corners of Europe.

In July 2008, the group will take up residence in Saint-Malo. After a month of preparation, the performance will be shown locally for a week. The group will then travel and perform in Italy, Slovenia, Romania, the Czech Republic and finally Germany, throughout the month of August. The tour will end in Paris in early September with another week of performances.

A travelling production, the show will be completely mobile and adaptable to all venues. Indoors or outdoors, in gardens or in theatres, their wish is to reach out to all audiences. The performances will be aimed at all audiences and free of charge.Through this project they wish to create ties between europeans who share a common interest in theatre, adventure and cultural exchange. In the spirit of friendship and sharing, they would like to contribute to Europe's common culture through the medium of artistic creation.

The JTLE fully follows the European Commission's wish to make 2008 the year of European intercultural exchange. Indeed, their plan is to use cultural diversity as a strength, to unite and create around it, in order to share an original performance with audiences from all cultural and social horizons.This cultural exchange will be born through the creation of a living production, but it will also be enriched by the free theatre workshops that will be set up in conjuction with the performances. Cultural exchange will further continue through their ties with the network of partners in the various cities they will visit. Starting with a single event, their plan is to create long term relations, with the goal of creating a sturdy European friendship. Above all, they wish to bring people closer, through the universality of theatre-by showing what brings europeans together and what makes up our common identity.

The performance

The performance will be a collective creation, in which all of the young actors will have collaborated actively. All the actors will have their say in every phase of the production, so as to create a performance which reflects the personality and culture of each participant. The only prerequisite to this artisitic exchange lies in the european theatre heritage of stage directors such as Artaud, Brook, Grotowsky and Mnouchkine. It is this heritage which encouraged them to focus our approach towards a poetic, physical and total theatre where all artistic possibilities (dance, theatre, painting, singing, music) can be used to create a "theatre that speaks to the senses" (Artaud). More concretely, they will be inspired by the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest piece of literature known to man, pre-existent even to the Mahâbhârata and the Illiad. The Epic tells the story of a man on a quest for immortality, who, after many voyages and trials, returns to his homeland with the gift of humility. This myth touches upon mankind's essential preoccupations, timeless and universal questions, that are still valid 6000 years later. The aim of the group is to make this story accessible to all cultures.

To this end, the text will be written in an invented language, so as to reimpart to the physical body its theatrical power, to give back to words their primitive musicality and to break the barriers of language.The key narrative elements of the performance will be conveyed by visual elements of staging, body language, and by a simple narration delivered by an antique choir; this will guarantee that everyone will understand the performance, regardless of their mother tongue. Be it through the performance itself or through the theatre workshops, this production aims to serve as a setting for exchanges around the theme of our mutual european identity, and for the sharing of a common passion: theatre, which goes beyond all cultural obstacles, including language.

The tour itinerary

Thanks to the European Festival for Francophone Theatre in Secondary Education (FETLYF), the main sponsor, they have created a network of contacts at every stop of their itinerary. Because of this, they have been able to visit all the towns that caught their attention, to meet local interlocutors and determine the venues for each performance.

The troupe

The troupe will be made up of eight young men and women, aged between 19 and 28, hailing from different countries around Europe (France, Poland, Slovenia...). Administered by 15 French students (Conservatoire du 5čme arrondissement de Paris, Conservatoire Supérieur National d'Art Dramatique, Sciences Po Paris, Ecole internationale Lecoq, Université Paris VII, Université Paris III), this project saw the light in 2007. They began a collaboration with other young european actors, specifically, students of the Ljubljana Theatre Academy (AGRFT) in Slovenia. The variety of backgrounds, the cultural diversity and multilingualism of the group will all be put to advantage within the theatrical creation itself, thus bestowing much depth to the performance.


(Published: 10.06.2008.)